Conventional aircraft are guided by various flight control surfaces such as rudders, ailerons, flaps, elevators, stabilizers and/or the like. These flight controls are typically moveable on the exterior surface of the aircraft to affect the flow of air in accordance with the principles of aerodynamics, and are widely deployed in various types of manned or unmanned aircraft (including both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft), as well as various missiles, rockets and/or the like.
More recently, aircraft have been designed to be larger and more complex in various ways. The migration to so-called “flying wing” and other tailless aircraft designs, for example, represents a choice to design aircraft with improved performance, but potentially with less aerodynamic stability. The stability of such aircraft is typically recouped through the use of larger control surfaces and/or faster control rates. Such designs, however, can be somewhat disadvantageous in that the larger surfaces frequently undergo larger aerodynamic loads than comparatively smaller surfaces, thereby demanding additional power to overcome such loads. Faster control rates similarly impose increased power demands. The increased demands for electrical and/or hydraulic power can limit the effective range or performance of the aircraft, and/or can reduce the size of the aircraft payload. Improved power consumption and/or hydraulic power plant size would therefore improve the range, performance and/or payload capacity of the aircraft. As a result, it is desirable to produce control surfaces that conserve electric and/or hydraulic power, or at least use as little power as possible.